Recipe from Good Housekeeping Spring Collection

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/recipes/a538173/asparagus-burrata-and-prosciutto-salad/

I love having healthy lunches that taste great and don’t take too long to prepare, so I’m always on the lookout for recipes that fit into this category. Even though it’s largely just a case of throwing things together, I’m always grateful for the inspiration.

Difficulty rating- 1/5, there’s nothing more complicated than some blanching & some whisking.

Necessary equipment-

1x Frying Pan

1x Colander

2x Bowls

1x Small Whisk or Fork

For how many people? 6 (see ‘serving size’ below)

Timings–

Total time taken (according to the recipe)- 20 minutes

Total time taken by me- 20 minutes

Hands-on time (according to the recipe)- 15 minutes

Hands-on time taken by me (including ingredients prep)- 17 minutes

Cooking time (according to the recipe)- 5 minutes

Cooking time taken by me- 2 minutes

The making–

The recipe was really well written, clear and easy to follow. I wasn’t left wishing for more clarity at any point.

I boiled the kettle to get ready to blanch the asparagus while I was doing other things, then when it was boiled poured a cm deep layer into a frying pan, added a pinch of salt, brought the water back to the boil, added the asparagus & set a timer.

Meanwhile I prepared a bowl of ice water and carried on doing other things, before draining the asparagus and plunging it in ice water to make sure it stops cooking.

The ice water thing might seem like overkill but it’s really important if you want to avoid overcooked asparagus and I’d definitely recommend doing it if you’re ever blanching asparagus for a recipe that doesn’t specifically suggest you do so.

Then I prepped the dressing- if you were in more of a hurry there would be time to do this while you were boiling the kettle and blanching the asparagus. If you use the same tablespoon for the honey as you used for the olive oil, it will come off more easily.

Finally it’s just a case of putting all the ingredients on the plates. The recipe suggests a serving platter for six people, but as there were just the two of us having a casual lunch at home I served it straight onto the plates we’d be eating off.

Any cheats or changes?

I bought asparagus tips instead of whole spears, so I didn’t need to bother snapping the woody ends off.

Any extra tips?

I took the burrata & prosciutto out of the fridge before I started to make the salad so that they wouldn’t have a fridge chill when it came to eating. This isn’t in the recipe but I always think it’s worth doing with cheeses & cured meats.

The recipe doesn’t mention salting the water to blanch the asparagus but this is by far the easiest way to season it.

When seasoning the dressing, bear in mind that prosciutto is salty so don’t season it as much as you would otherwise.

If you were making the salad for a serving platter and wanted to make sure the rocket leaves were all well dressed, make the dressing in a large mixing bowl. Decant it into a smaller bowl then toss the rocket leaves in the bowl in which it was made before drizzling over the salad at the end. That way, all of the rocket will be kissed by the dressing and you don’t risk any undressed leaves.

Anything you’d change for next time?

Nothing.

Serving Size- Fine for a starter or side dish- for lunch we doubled the serving size so the recipe would have served 3 and it was just the right amount. If you wanted to serve 6 for lunch without doubling the recipe, some new potatoes or croutons would make the salad more filling and go well with the other elements of the dish.

The eating-

I really enjoyed this salad. The dressing was garlicky and sweet and made a nice change from a standard vinaigrette while still cutting through the richness of the burrata perfectly. Asparagus and prosciutto are a classic combination for a reason and everything on the plate just went together really well. It was also quite a beautiful dish full of vibrant spring colours, so it would make a really pretty centrepiece for a starter at a dinner party or side dish at a summer barbecue.

Any comments from other people?

My husband really enjoyed it but found it quite rich, so would probably have preferred using regular mozzarella instead of burrata.

Verdict– 4/5- Easy, quick and delicious.